A high tide is highest during a ______ tide because the grravitational pull of the Sun and Moon align and combine.

A high tide is highest during a ______ tide because the grravitational pull of the Sun and Moon align and combine.

• A. Spring
• B. Semidiurnal
• C. Diurnal
• D. Neap

Answer: (A)

Tides are strongest when the Moon’s gravity and the Sun’s gravity pull in the same vertical line through Earth, so their forces add together. This alignment happens during a new moon or a full moon, and the result is higher high tides and lower low tides, known as a spring tide. The terms semidiurnal and diurnal describe how many high tides occur each day, not how big they are, while neap tides occur when the Sun and Moon are at right angles to each other, weakening the tides. So the highest tide aligns with a spring tide.

Tides are strongest when the Moon’s gravity and the Sun’s gravity pull in the same vertical line through Earth, so their forces add together. This alignment happens during a new moon or a full moon, and the result is higher high tides and lower low tides, known as a spring tide. The terms semidiurnal and diurnal describe how many high tides occur each day, not how big they are, while neap tides occur when the Sun and Moon are at right angles to each other, weakening the tides. So the highest tide aligns with a spring tide.